The Women’s Reservation Bill, which provides 33 per cent quota for women in Parliament, may be facing a stiff political opposition, but this has not deterred the Government from hoping to gain the support of MPs to push amendments to reserve half the seats in pachayats for women in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament. At present, women enjoy 33 per cent reservation in panchayats across the country.
The Panchayati Raj Ministry is also mulling whether to extend the ward reservation for women candidates to two terms from the current one term.
Speaking at a National Workshop here on ‘Implemen-tation of (Panchayats Extension to the Scheduled Areas) PESA Act: Issues and way forward’, Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Birender Singh said though some States had provided 50 per cent reservation to women in panchayats, it will be implemented in the whole country.
He also expressed hope that all political parties will extend support in the passage of the amendment. The Minister also said that it will also bring about changes in law to reserve the ward for women for two terms of five years each from the existing single term.
Singh said on the basis of the report of the Bhuria Committee submitted in 1995, the PESA Act was enacted in 1996 to extend Part IX of the Constitution with certain modifications and exceptions to the Fifth Schedule areas in 108 districts in 10 States.
He also made a strong pitch for the faster implementation of the PESA Act by the States for the upliftment of tribals, saying they cannot wait any longer for development as they had already waited for 65 years.
He said the effective implementation of PESA Act will enhance women’s participation in decision-making at local level as tribal population will feel more comfortable to raise their issues and concerns in smaller gram sabhas at village level rather than at gram panchayat level.
Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Nihal Chand said that PESA Act will have a positive impact in preventing and checking extremism and resentment among tribal population if implemented effectively. Chand said that financial assistance under the 14th Finance Commission award is also available to the Fifth Schedule Areas for supporting and strengthening the delivery of basic services.